Rangers
by BlackLine
Summary: In that one moment, their entire lives changed. They jumped down that drainpipe to escape the ones chasing them, but what they weren't expecting was to end up in another world. Two best friends have been transported to the world of Ranger's Apprentice. Why? They don't know. They've found this world has changed; Will is evil. Halt has a son. The two are now Apprentices.
1. Down The Drainpipe

**Chapter One: Down The Drainpipe**

 _'The future belongs to the insane, because only we will be able to survive there. The rest of you? Think of it as punishment for the insults you spat. The normal will never be good enough.'_ ~ A quote from me, The Author, just because I can.

* * *

Alix Bryars, your not so average thirteen year old girl, sighed loudly as she saw her best friend literally drop past her from the sky. Note that Alix was currently on a roof. For reasons not even the two girls knew they'd been invited to the birthday party of Corman Hallow, a guy who was extremely popular in their school and just so happened to own a mansion. A freaking _mansion_. His parents were obviously filthy rich, which only prompted Alix to wonder why they sent their son to TKC, a public secondary school which was pretty much home to the insane half of the entire population of Somsbery, where they lived.

Both Alix and Sophie Jones, Alix's best friend, had been invited to their class'mates' thirteenth birthday party, along with the the rest of the students in their year, as well as a couple of Corman's out of school friends. It shouldn't be that bad; massive house, great food -except the caviar. Sophie absolutely hated caviar- halfway decent music and _thank god_ there were no adults to spot the snuck in alcohol. Problem was that Corman was a massive prick and only invited them to embarrass them, insult their fashion sense and generally make their lives a living nightmare. Yeah, nobody liked them very much if you couldn't tell by now. As in they'd both been told to die not very much.

Unfortunately for Corman they'd found that 'secret' bookshelf that slid right to reveal a staircase that led up, and now they were on the roof and nobody could figure out how to get to them. The mansion was ridiculously large, the party taking place near the back by the annoyingly huge garden, which had a hedge maze somewhere in it it was so big.

Now, see what I meant when I said this place was massive?

The place they were in kinda resembled a courtyard, a massive square of the house that was like one giant half a mile by half a mile room. There was a big ass pool in the middle -Corman had supplied quick dry swimsuits- a non alcoholic bar on the left, which was currently unarmed, people coming up an refilling their champagne glasses as they wished. The bar was also where the alcohol was currently being hidden, but we're not supposed to talk about that.

On the right was a smallish stage where a massive karaoke _thing_ was set up. There was a microphone in the middle, nobody singing at that current time, on the right was a box with a computer rested on it so people could choose the songs. In the front of the stage was a small machine where the words would appear for the singer to read. Behind the stage the wall was painted black, a projector screening whatever video went along with the song, whether it be lyrics or the video of the original performers.

The rest was just the tiled floor, the room lit up by professional disco lighting that seemed to be installed as an actual feature to the room rather than just rented for the night. Music was pumping through the room due to the fact that nobody was currently singing at the karaoke; when somebody sang the music would be paused so the person performing could be heard. The two friends were perched atop the edge of the wall surrounding the courtyard slash party room, looking down on the party that was pretty much a private club as far as they were concerned. Screw the host inviting the entire year group, Corman had seemingly invited the entire school, considering the fact that there were year tens doing... Stuff in a corner -were those drugs? Sophie was pretty sure they were drugs- and some Six Formers taking shots in the pool. Guess that would explain who brought the alcohol, eh?

Well now that I've given an ordinance survey worthy description of the room, where were we? Oh, yes, Sophie had just jumped off the top off the roof. That.

Alix rolled her eyes as her friend ran past her, jumping off the edge of the wall as easily as if it were a springboard. Sophie had mentioned something about doing this, but of course the smaller of the two never believed her friend was actually serious. Looks like she was. Sophie had brought her own two piece swim suit, having anticipated the pool. (Meaning she'd broken in and explored the area, taking photos for Alix) It was black and sparkly and more importantly black. Sophie liked black. As well as death and knives and violence in general. She was kinda emo like that.

So Sophie launched herself off the roof, everyone's eyes immediately drawn to the vaguely sparkling blob of black and skin that was currently plummeting from the sky at like a billion miles per hour. The thought that if Sophie hit the water the wrong way she might die flitted across Alix's mind; she thought she should be slightly concerned, but... Nah. Sophie could handle this, and hey, if she did die it'd just mean Corman would have to do a loada paperwork. Hehehe...

After a few flips the tall girl hit the water feet first, plunging into the pool and making a massive wave, which proceeded to swamp all the other swimmers. The girl resurfaced, grinning ear to ear as she climbed out the pool, everyone staring at her. There was shocked silence for a few moments as Sophie made her way towards the right side of the room, heading for the corridor that led towards the bookcase. That's about when Corman spoke up.

"Hey! That areas off limits, you can't go over there!"

The girl turned around, the material of her swimsuit already drying off in the warm summer air as she looked Corman dead in the eyes with the cold brown of her own. The boy had every reason to be terrified at that moment.

"Or what?"

Sophie suppressed a smirk as Corman gulped, the room dead silent as they looked at the supposedly insane girl who'd apparently broken someone's arm once. Both the rumours were true, and nobody particularly wanted to get in a fight with her; sure, they'd insult her a lot, send her death threats and try to play mind games with her. But a full on fight? No thanks.

"Er... Or I'll kick you out! Yeah, don't go up there or I'll make you leave!"

The audience were scared as they saw exactly who Corman was challenging, but as she threw her head back and laughed they were absolutely terrified.

"You? Stop me? Jeez, Corman, I didn't think you'd want an ambulance to be called into your birthday party, but if you're sure..."

Sophie was already grinning madly at this point, so she didn't have to suppress the smile as she saw her cousin, Ano, give her the thumbs up from one corner. Ano was in year ten and she knew Sophie wouldn't actually do anything to put Corman in hospital... Probably. The entire crowd actually took a step back as Sophie took a step forwards, mad smile still in place.

"Corman, I challenge you..."

The entire school thought they knew what the girl was going to say next; she was going to challenge Corman to a fight, and he would come out of it dead, or at least with a few less limbs. Fortunately for the birthday boy that's not what happened.

"To a rapping challenge! Choose the fastest rap you can think of at that karaoke... Thing, and see who wins! I'll let you go first, seeing as it's your birthday and all that."

Corman was shocked to say the least. Everyone knew that Sophie was more a violent person than anything else, none of them imagined she could sing, let alone rap. Besides, the stereotype made it seem as though only boys were good at rap, right? She didn't stand a chance, especially considering Corman's infamous rapping skills.

"What's in it for me?"

"Winner gets bragging rights. You win and I'll kiss your ass, loose and I'll kick it."

"You're on, but... Ladies first?"

"Get on that stage now or you're as good as dead."

That was all it took, and a minute later Corman was on the stage rapping like his life depended on it, which it pretty much did at this point, seeing as who he was up against and all that.

 _" Negative b plus or minus the square root of_

 _b squared minus four ac over two a_

 _That's insane, that's absolutely insane_

 _they made me learn that over basic first aid?_

 _Or how to recognise the most deadly mental disorders_

 _Or disease with preventable causes"_

Sophie looked to her left as Alix popped up besides her, having made her way down from the roof in a much more sensible way than her friend; she'd taken the stairs rather than jumping off. Booriiing.

"What do you think, Sophie? He's pretty good."

The taller of the two and also oldest by a few months shrugged, crossing her arms as Corman's voice continued to fill the room.

"Hn. Amateur, good choice of song though, never would have thought he'd know about BIAB."

"So... What song are you going to choose?"

Sophie looked over to her best friend, a slight smile still on her face.

"I'm gonna do Party By Myself."

"But Sophie! That's the fastest song there is, you can't possi-"

"Sped up."

 _"Or how to buy a house with a mortgage_

 _If I could afford it_

 _Because abstract maths was deemed more important_

 _Than advice that would literally save thousands of lives_

 _But it's cool because now I can tell you if the number_

 _Of unnecessary deaths caused by that choice is prime."_

Once Corman was done the room burst into applause, cheering and whistling blah blah blah. The boy grinned at his guests for a couple moments as Sophie made her way towards the stage, coughing a couple times. She had not only chosen one of the fastest raps ever but she was going to be singing to the karaoke of the nightcored version, which basically means the sped up version. She rolled her eyes as Corman spoke into the microphone before handing it to her.

"Beat that, Jones! No way can you win now!"

"Uhu. If that head of yours grows any more it's gonna burst, you know that?"

A few snickers sounded through the room as the brunet made her way over to the computer, clicking a few buttons before she found herself on YouTube, searching up the right clip and stretching, twirling the microphone in her hands a couple times as she waited for the advert to finish. The song she had chosen was pretty appropriate because they were at the party, half the guests were insane considering they went to TCK, the boys were taking any chance they could to get a girlfriend and the sixth formers were still taking shots. Add that with the fact neither Sophie nor Alix particularly wanted to be there and the scene went with the song perfectly.

The song mixed between rap and actual singing, but the rapping part was ridiculously fast. It was widely known as the 'impossible song' in their school because nobody had managed to sing it, and the second the opening played everyone was immediately laughing.

"You're never gonna sing this!"

"It's faster, too! The normal versions insane, this is impossible!"

* * *

 ** _(I changed the lyrics of the song because the original is completely not appropriate even for this story. If any of you have innocence left, I wanna help you preserve it)_**

* * *

The girl ignored the comments, rolling her eyes and beginning to sing the opening lines.

 _"I'm fresh to death, I'm in the zone_

 _I checked my head, but no one's home_

 _The mood is right, the party's on_

 _Looks like tonight, I'll be drinking alone_

 _Screw everyone else, I'mma party by myself_

 _Do this shit all night, I don't need nobody else_

 _Screw everyone else, I'mma party by myself_

 _Higher than a kite, with nobody but myself"_

Compared to Corman's song this one fit the theme of the party because his was child friendly, and hers? Sophie's song was most definitely not child friendly. At all.

 _"By myself_

 _By myself_

 _By myself_

 _By myself_

 _By myself_

 _By myself_

 _By myself_

 _By myself"_

There was silence as everyone waited for the rapping verse to start. Would she make it? Could she? Nobody believed this weird girl they loved to pick on could possibly pull it off, she'd never be able to do it. Not possible. If they couldn't, then she definitely couldn't. No way.

 _"One more shot, then it's time to roll_

 _Smoke these crops and I'm out the door_

 _Chug some rock, but I sip Patron_

 _Reload my glock till you explode_

 _You died? I'll go out alone_

 _Bitch you must be out your dome_

 _Fresh new kicks, I cut off the floor_

 _Ludacris_ , _I throw them_ ' _bows_

 _Life of the party, got the bitches laughing_

 _Funny on-point, my joke's cracking_

 _Dance on my own just to get some action_

 _Looking in the mirror like I'm Michael Jackson_

 _Cause this is risky, don't try to diss_ _me_

 _I get more shit than a bowl of Friskies_

 _I roll solo, can't keep up with me_

 _You go home early like you're flipping sixty_

 _You're amazed the rap is peaking_

 _I think you're having trouble speaking_

 _You a freak and I like freaking_

 _Me, myself, and I've been drinking"_

People actually started cheering as Sophie pulled off the rapping verse, without a single slip up or mumble. It was clear that she'd won now; Corman didn't stand a chance. They went through the singing verse again, the crowd joining in, then they all stopped as they got to the second rapping verse, which was even faster than the first one and had gained the song the title of impossible.

 _"Picked myself up in my Mitsubishi_

 _Said "What's up? It's nice to meet me"_

 _Never met someone so damn freaky_

 _Who, at the same time, is such a sweetie_

 _So when everybody else is being such a puss_

 _Doesn't mean you can't straight get off the hook_

 _I don't need another gun to blow up dem books_

 _I can party all night yeah aim and shoot_

 _So I'mma go out and do some thrashing_

 _Show everybody what the hell is cracking_

 _Cause this badass gun can do some damage_

 _If you don't think so, you can screw a rabbit_

 _I don't need no static when I feed my habits_

 _So don't be combatant when I wreak some havoc_

 _From these drugs I'm having; where's my keys, goddamnit?_

 _I should be out having shots not standing here rapping_

 _In my Nissan, blacking out, I need some action_

 _Like a peon tapping from this heat I'm packing_

 _My mind is lagging, let me see what happens_

 _When you kids are clapping, Sophie. J is rapping!"_

Sophie launched into the singing verse right again, Alix watching with a wolf like grin as she picked up on the fact that Sophie had tweaked the original lyrics. She'd replaced 'Charles.P is rapping' with Sophie.J is rapping, and the shorter of the two best friends couldn't help but be slightly impressed. How the hell could Sophie even think whilst rapping that fast? It was nuts. Well, at least this party wouldn't be as boring now. Heh.

A while later found both Sophie and Alix walking through the streets of Somsbery, both the girls drunk off vanilla extract. Long story.

"She kicked us out and everything! It was so funny!"

"You were trying to kill Edmund with a kitchen knife, Alix. It's really no wonder Corman's Mum kicked us out after that."

"But he deserved it! He called me a freak!"

"You _are_ a freak, Alix."

"That's not the point!"

The taller of the two rolled her eyes, stretching widely as she looked up at the dark blue of the sky. The two had snuck into the kitchen, and on finding the two bottles of vanilla extract in the cupboard had proceeded to down them, thinking they were rich people lemonade. Turns out that posh vanilla extract is 80% alcohol. Fun. The reason Sophie wasn't now acting like a complete idiot -well, even more of an idiot than usual- was because she seemingly had a higher alcohol tolerance than Alix. Even longer story involving a Halloween party, a bottle of sprite and some vodka. Let's just say Sophie never wants to get a hangover again. Ever.

Corman's Mum had come to the kitchen to get some midnight tea or something. Yeah, the two girls really didn't have a clue how rich people work, but hey, midnight tea sounds better than smoked hamster. She'd caught them putting the now empty vanilla bottles back, and Alix had immediately made the assumption the woman was a thief due to the fact her brain was being controlled by the alcohol she'd just consumed. Sophie had only just managed to stop her friend from beheading the owner of the house, and consequently Alix had ran into the party room yelling about spaceships and trying to shank anyone within five meters.

To put it lightly the two were no longer welcome in the Hallow family mansion -as in they'd get arrested if they set foot on the premises again. Corman's Dad was a cop- so the friends had left, and were now wandering around Somsbery at one O'Clock in the morning with no visible way to defend themselves. I say that because neither of them would hesitate to rip someone's head of.

They walked for a few minutes longer until Alix brought up the topic of her favourite book, Rangers Apprentice. She read that series like a bible, and due to her constant talk of the matter Sophie pretty much knew what the series was about. She didn't know the extensive plot or anything, she'd never actually read the books herself. Although she did know the main character was a guy called Will and that Alix absolutely despised him. She was a Halt fangirl, seemingly.

"And then Halt came in, and he was like 'I'm a King's Ranger, everybody freeze! And then-"

Alix was rendered silent as a hand was suddenly slapped over her mouth, Sophie letting go after a few moments, knowing her friend wouldn't talk again. She pushed the smaller down, crouching next to her behind the wall, signalling at her to shut up.

"Gaki... There are some guys over there that we better avoid."

"What did you do this time, Sophie?"

Alix turned and two pairs of brown eyes met, Sophie's slightly darker than her friends.

"Hey! Why assume it was something I did? Okay so admittedly it was this time, but still!"

Alix just rolled her eyes, then both girls tensed, silent as they heard voices. Getting closer. Talking about 'murdering that annoying brat that had thrown rocks at their car'. At this point Alix glared at Sophie, the taller just raising an eyebrow as if to say 'you should have expected me to do something like that by now'. Unfortunately Alix didn't have time to punch her best friend in the face because they'd just been spotted.

"There she is! Get em!"

"What is this? A sixties movie? Seriously, 'get em' is so overuse-"

Sophie was promptly shut up by Alix grabbing her arm and running, forcing Sophie to follow or trip over her own two feet. The taller twisted round, immediately setting off at a fast sprint, Alix a few paces behind her as they ran. Sophie wasn't really that worried about the guys chasing them until she heard the all too familiar sound of a bullet pinging off metal. She stumbled but managed to catch herself, continuing to run even as she moved a hand up to her mouth to keep the contents of her stomach inside her body rather than out. Yet the hand ended up freezing half way to her mouth as she saw that it was dripping with blood. Coated in it. So much blood...

"Sophie? Are you okay!?"

Sophie's head snapped up to look at her best friend, the taller girl continuing to run numbly as she squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head roughly to clear the fog that had settled over her mind. The older brunet looked down at her hand which was now free of blood, then back to her friend.

"Y-yeah... I'm fine, we just need to get the hell out of here before we get shot."

Alix nodded, both girls picking up their pace as they heard the crack of a gun once again. The smaller looked over at her friend, concerned as she saw Sophie flinch particularly hard at the sound of bullets pinging on metal, but she didn't go into shock like she looked like she'd been about to do just a few seconds ago. They continued running, somehow faster than the sixteen or seventeen year olds chasing them. How the heck did those guys even get their hands on guns, anyways? Meh, it was Somsbery, you could get pretty much anything around here if you knew how.

The girls vaulted benches and fences, running through puddles and mud, even cutting through one old ladies back garden at one point. Let's just say that poor woman's fence has more than a few holes in it now. Oops. The chase continued for a little while longer till Sophie and Alix found themselves running down an alleyway, having just dodged the spray of bullets that would have ended their lives otherwise. When they got to the end of the alleyway, however, they found themselves face to face with a set of stairs they really didn't want to see right now.

"Shit... These are the... The Jacks, aren't they?"

Alix nodded, both girls panting as they took a second to get their breaths back.

"We won't be able to make it up, it's way too steep. Nobody's made it up there, remember that guy that was in the year above us that died trying?"

"Yeah, that kid called Thomas Oblivion. He was nice, I think we would've gotten on well if he hadn't died."

"We would have gotten on well with Nasia if you hadn't broken her arm."

Sophie looked over at Alix, staring at her for a moment before:

"No we wouldn't."

"True. She insulted Rangers Apprentice."

The girls conversation was quickly brought to an end as a bullet hit the wall right next to Sophie's head. The girl flinched violently, thanking whatever holy force was out there that these guys were terrible shots, not needing to look back to know they had just entered the alley and so were right behind them.

"Sophie, you can't seriously be thinking of going up there, it's pretty much suicide, especially in this weather!"

Sophie shrugged, starting to run up the ridiculously steep steps that only got narrower the further up you went, and it was a half hour run to the top. They were in for it.

"Adrenaline can do wonderful things, Gaki. Die and I'll drag you back to kill you again. Now let's go!"

Sophie bit her lip as she continued running, each step she took putting her life in danger. The gun shots had stopped a little while ago, but she could tell the men were still following from the sound of heavy footfall and laboured breathing a little way behind them.

Three men were chasing them, two of them armed and the other one making up for the lack of a gun in body power. Sophie had been minding her own business, making her way home from school and kicking rocks as she went. One went astray and hit a car. Yeah, turns out that was not a fun car to kick rocks at, and next thing she knew she was getting chased by these three guys. She'd lost them somehow, but now they obviously wanted revenge.

It was currently winter, meaning the steps were even more slippery and perilous. One slip would most definitely be fatal, but then again turning back would be too, so they carried running up the Jack And Jill steps, also known as The Jacks. After half an hour of running and two almost fatal accidents on Alix's part the top of the steps seemed to be looming ahead of them. The girls darted forwards in a burst of energy, not looking back. If they looked down now it would all be over.

The two best friends practically leapt up the last stair, looking around wildly at what was the top of the Jack and Jill steps. It was a circle with concrete walls built up around it, not letting anyone climb over. Meaning it was a dead end. They were trapped.

The sound of yelling behind them caused the girls to scramble into the cover of the trees, which dotted the edge of the circle. It would do a terrible job of hiding them, but hey, it was better than nothing. They pressed themselves flat against the wall, hoping the thin pieces of wood would somehow grant them their safety.

"Where the hell are they!?"

"They gotta be somewhere! Nobody can just disappear!"

Sophie decided a comment about how in fact Harry Potter could do that and more wasn't really the best idea right now. Both girls held their breath, not even blinking as they pressed themselves as far back into the wall as they possibly could, wishing they could melt into the hard concrete. The taller of the two's eyes flitted around the small circle of space, frantically searching for anything that could possibly help them. Her eyes latched onto a man hole cover, nothing out of the ordinary except for the fact that the top seemed kinda loose.

"Come out! We know you're there!"

Sophie knew she had to make a choice. Get her and Alix down that storm drain or die trying, or they could just wait here. If they just stayed still there was a chance the guys would leave, but she seriously doubted that. Besides, this place was tiny, it was only a matter of time before they were spotted. It all hinged on whether or not that manhole cover -which, now Sophie was looking at it closely, had a design engraved into the top that looked a lot like a flower- was properly secured to the floor or not. If it was they'd most likely end up dead, but if it wasn't... Well, the brunet didn't particularly like the idea of jumping down into a sewer, but if it came to it...

In a split second decision she grabbed Alix, lunging at the manhole cover and yanking on the handles _hard_ , almost dislocating her arm as the rusty metal holding it down broke to pieces, the decorated cover coming off as yells filled the clearing.

"There they are!"

"Get them!"

Sophie hesitated for a split second, a second that would have gotten them killed if some wind of some sort hadn't then blown, the force of the magical cliché wind sending them tumbling into the hole, Alix first and Sophie a split second after. The taller girl squeezed her eyes shut as the darkness pressed in on her, seeming to fill even her closed eyes and ears and mouth, almost as though it was trying to suffocate her. Sophie couldn't control the fall at all, the thought that they might die just from the impact prominent in the front of her mind as bullets whizzed past her head.

Of course she had no idea they were going to get spat out into another world. It really wasn't her lucky day today, was it?

* * *

 ** _A/N: Hello everybody. I'd say that this is my first fanfiction, but then I_** ** _would be lying so I won't. I usually post all my stuff on Wattpad, and nearly a year ago now I wrote Rangers, a story in which me and my best friend Alix go to the Ranger's Apprentice world._**

 ** _However I decided that story was rubbish, so I've been rewriting. I'm onto chapter seven of the rewrite, but I need to see what people think of it. I'm keeping it a surprise for the people waiting to read it on Wattpad, so I decided hey I might as well just post it on fanfiction._**

 ** _So yeah, you're feedback is especially crucial right now, so please leave a review even if it is to just say this is trash and I should delete it. Thanks so much to anyone who's bothered to read this,_**

 ** _~Zero_**


	2. The Library

Chapter Two: The Library

 **'If it's just a game, at least be brave enough to run towards the guns and die'~ Sinon, Sword Art Online Two: Gun Gale Online**

Sophie snapped up straight as soon as she regained consciousness, eyes shooting open to immediately be greeted with the most breathtaking view of the night sky she had ever seen. She'd never been blessed with the sight of stars that bright before, nor so many. The brunet gazed at them for a few moments, transfixed, before snapping back to reality as she heard something shift beside her. Alix sat up slowly, stretching widely as she looked around. Both girls turned to look behind them at the same time, and what they saw literally made their jaws drop.

"Yo Sophie... I don't think this is a sewer..."

Sophie just nodded in both agreement and amazement, staring at the castle before them. Neither had ever seen a castle before due to the fact that there were none in or near Somsbery, and they'd never traveled very far outside the town before. So this was a first, and by God this castle was spectacular. The taller of the two took a few steps forward, reaching out to press her fingertips against the cool brick of the wall. The entire structure was made up of glittering dark grey almost black bricks that Sophie recognised well.

"I thought as much, these are iridescent bricks."

"They're what now?"

Alix also stepped up to the wall, noting that when she pulled her hand away a slightly shiny black substance clung to her skin. It seemed almost like lots of tiny lead fibres, but a little darker and more sparkly.

"Iridescent bricks. They're made up of ash and stone, they came around in the medieval era when a lot of people were burnt at the stake. They used the ashes of supposed witches to make the brick, and apparently any structure made out of them was cursed and the residents inside were evil."

The smaller of the two shivered slightly from the chilling story, wiping off the remaining pieces of human ash on her jeans.

"So... These walls could very well be made out of burnt people?"

Sophie just nodded, eyes roving over the castle for a minute before snapping back to Alix, who was staring at the entrance to the structure, which was a massive wooden drawbridge.

"Alix... Where are we? No way is this Somsbery, we don't have any castles, the air smells... Fresher, and the stars are too bright. Like there's not as much pollution or something."

The smaller girl simply shook her head to signify that she didn't have a clue where they currently were, before beginning to walk towards the drawbridge, Sophie following a few paces behind her. When they reached it the older noticed the wood hadn't been pulled back fully, meaning the drawbridge wasn't completely closed. The gap at the top was big enough for them to slip inside.

"I'm sure if we go in here we can find out where we are."

Sophie raised an eyebrow at her friend, seriously doubting both Alix's sanity and logic in general.

"Because going inside a cursed castle made up of corpses when we don't even know who owns it is the best idea ever."

"Right! Glad you get where I'm coming from, now let's go!"

The taller girl simply rolled her eyes, not bothering to point out that she'd been being sarcastic. She folded her arms across her chest as Alix scrambled up the side of the drawbridge, clinging to the wood and somehow making it to the top, flashing her a grin before jumping down into the unknown. Sophie shook her head as she began to climb, going a lot more slowly than her friend. She'd always thought the smaller was kind of like a wolf in the way she could scale pretty much anything and make it look effortless, whereas Sophie could find next to no purchase on the sanded wood.

Five gruelling minutes of climbing three meters of smooth wood later found the two friends standing next to each other, staring down a dimly lit hallway that at this moment in time seemed extremely scary and ominous.

"I never knew a hallway could be intimidating, but... I'm starting to rethink..."

Sophie ignored her friend, beginning to make her way down the corridor. The ash in the bricks shimmered, bathed in the light of flaming torches that sat snugly in their holders, which were attached to the wall at various intervals of space. The taller girl grabbed one, not minding the heat as the flames roared a little ways above her hand. She'd always liked fire.

"C'mon Gaki, let's go. What's the worst that could happen?"

The smaller girl jogged forwards so she was at her friends side, not wanting to be left alone in the dark now Sophie had taken the first light source.

"There could be traps... The people here could be evil... We could get arrested for trespassing... Would you like me to go on?"

The taller of the two sighed loudly at Alix's reply, and after a few moments of walking in silence they reached a crossroads.

"So...Which way?"

Neither girl could see far enough down any of the corridors to make an educated guess, so Sophie just shrugged and began making her way down the left corridor, muttering about 'when in doubt, go left' or something of the sort. Alix didn't really catch it so just kept walking, wondering where everybody was. A castle like this should be pretty busy, right? Then again it was nighttime, meaning everyone was probably asleep, which was most likely a good thing for them. After a while they came across a certain door. The two were going to ignore it, just like they had all the other doors they'd passed, but the sign above it is what caught their attention.

"Library! I bet we can find out where we are in there!"

Sophie nodded, pushing the door open as quietly as she possibly could and peering inside. Upon finding the room empty she opened the heavy metal door all the way, placing the torch in the holder on the wall and wishing she had magical abilities of some sort to light up the rest of the room. Just in case she snapped her fingers once, putting as much power into her voice as possible as she spoke the command.

"Illuminate!"

Yeah, nothing happened except Alix giving Sophie an extremely weird look. The taller girl just shrugged, making her way through the shelves and shelves of books. This place would put their local Somsbery library to shame, that was for sure; it was absolutely huge! Eventually the girls found themselves face to face with a map pinned to the wall, causing Alix to promptly have a heart attack. I'm not going to put what she said next, due to younger readers and all that. Then again... That didn't exactly stop me with the song lyrics, did it? Meh.

After the girl had finally recovered enough to say words actually included in the English dictionary she turned to Sophie, trembling slightly.

"Sophie... We're in Araluen... We're in Araluen... WE'RE IN FREAKING ARALUEN!"

The taller girl's eyes widened drastically as she peered at the map, reading all the places. From what she'd hear from Alix... Yeah, this was definitely Araluen... Meaning...

"How the hell did we end up in a book series? And why Rangers Apprentice? Why not Harry Potter!?"

Alix didn't reply, her eyes had already zoned in on the massive red X on the map, which marked their current location.

"Sophie..."

"What? What is it?"

"We're at the ruins of Gorlan... Except, these aren't ruins, they've been rebuilt."

Sophie nodded, eyes tracing over the map. What was now marked as Castle Gorlan was roughly in the centre of the map, South West of the Araluen Castle. A decent way to the left of Gorlan was Redmount Fief, and a tiny bit south west of that Halt's Cabin was marked. Neither girl failed to notice the small black circle drawn by the cabin, but decided to ponder that later seeing as they had no idea what it meant. Going up a bit was what seemed to be a small village called Trunbury, but it had a black X over it. Both of them thought they knew what it meant, but neither particularly wanted to voice it. That village had been destroyed.

Going up further was just water water. So that was it, then. That was the basic part of Araluen that the girls were familiarish with. Sophie pulled her phone out the pocket of her jogging bottoms, snapping a quick photo of the map as best she could in the low quality lighting. They then continued, looking at the labels on the side of bookshelves and thankful that whoever rebuilt the ruins of Gorlan seemed to like labelling things. If they didn't they'd be well and truly screwed.

"So, who would rebuild the ruins into a castle? In iridescent brick, no less. Who would even need a castle anyways?"

Alix shrugged, going over all the Rangers Apprentice characters in her mind. It could be anyone's castle, really, but she did know one thing: they really didn't want to get caught in here. Pretty much everyone in the RA world was a lethal killer in some aspect, so getting caught sneaking around like this most likely wouldn't do them any favours. At all. Actually it would probably lead to their deaths.

"Hey look, this shelf is labelled 'Universe Travellers'! That sounds pretty promising."

The smaller girl followed Sophie over to the bookcase that was indeed marked Universe Travellers, and was crammed full of scrolls. The taller then proceeded to pull out the nearest one, skim reading it before putting it back and pulling out another one. Alix followed her friend's example, pulling out scroll after scroll to see if they could gain any useful info on how they got here.

"Hey, I think I found something!"

Sophie read over her scroll, eyes shining as she read it out loud so Alix didn't have to stop skimming. This particular scroll stood out from all the rest due to the fact that the parchment was dyed red, unlike the regular yellowy colour all the others seemed to be.

"It says something to do with Universal Spirits. Apparently there's this one that has the power to transport people between universes or something, I don't thi-"

Sophie stopped speaking suddenly, ears pricking as she listened intently. After a few moments the sound of lots of people in heavy armour running down stairs became clear, and the girls looked at each other in horror for a moment before frantically searching for a hiding place. Alix dropped her scroll to the floor in a panic as Sophie grabbed her, pulling them both into an alcove in the wall, each of them holding their breath and wishing they could go further into the wall. What was it with them and finding crappy hiding places?

The door burst open, the sound of clanking armour moving invading the ears of the two girls as presumably knights of some sort filled the room. There was silence for a moment, before somebody, most likely their leader, spoke up.

"I definitely heard voices! There is someone in this room, I have no doubt about it!"

Footsteps were heard as the man walked around the library, most likely looking for the intruders. Alix and Sophie kept themselves pressed up in their alcove. Luckily the man didn't pass by them, but it was a close call. Like a really close call. Sophie could tell from how near the man's angry breathing was that he'd stopped by the Universe Travellers shelf, which they were hiding by. Meaning he'd see the scroll on the floor and notice the one missing. Shit.

"Someone's stolen it! Someone's stolen the scroll on that stupid Universe Spirit! Black Knights, search the entire castle, they can't have gone far! That scroll is the key ingredient in advancing our plans, use lethal force if necessary!"

Yeah, they were definitely right to think they didn't want to get caught trespassing. The sound of clanking armour filled the room once again, those Black Knight people making their exit to follow this other guys orders. All the while Alix was racking her brain to try and figure out who the Black Knights actually were and who it was they could be working for. If she could figure that out she'd know who's castle they were in, and more importantly if they were evil or not. Unfortunately they didn't ring any bells, and she would've remembered if they'd popped up in the Rangers Apprentice series anywhere. After a few minutes of tense silence the footsteps were no longer within hearing range, and both girls released their held breaths as they stepped out from the alcove.

Only to meet the eyes of Will Treaty.

Sophie's brown eyes met his green for half a second, holding each other's gaze before Will lunged towards the taller of the two friends, or more accurately the scroll she was holding. The girl sidestepped just in time, the man flying straight into the bookshelf, effectively knocking it over. At that very moment Sophie switched from the insane sarcastic brat to the insane sarcastic strategist, the brunet running up the falling bookshelf, using the momentum to spring off the end and onto the shelf in front of her, reaching down a hand to haul up Alix.

"Sophie, it's Will! Will's rebuilt the ruins, and he's got an entire freaking army of these black knight guys at his disposal!"

"And?"

"That means Will's gone evil!"

Brown eyes widened at both the statement and the fact that a knife had just thudded into the wall a millimetre from her face. Cataloging the new information to analyse at a later time, Sophie felt Alix's hand grab hers just as Will pushed the bookshelf over in an attempt to knock her to the floor. The girl bit her lip as she felt the wood wobble under her and then fall forwards, knocking into the one in front of them. The taller of the two friends knew they needed to jump now, or the next shelf would fall out of reach. So she did, springing forwards to the shelf in front of them, which then proceeded to knock the next shelf over as well. It was like a domino effect, and they had to keep up with it.

They'd somehow managed to keep on top of the shelves and dodge the knives aimed their way, until the disastrous happened. One shelf fell the wrong way, toppling so it was falling towards them rather than away from them. The two best friends only had time to raise their hands in front of their faces as the thankfully light bookshelf fell on top of them, covering them with a massive pile of books. Luckily neither of them were crushed by the shelf, and the room was still once again, the two freezing as they realised Will couldn't see them under the pile of books. The sound of footsteps filled the room as the man walked around searching for any signs of movement to indicate where the intruders -and more importantly his scroll- were.

"Come out, games over. I'm not letting either of you leave here alive with that scroll, I hope you understand that."

Neither of the brunets dared to so much as breath as they saw feet in front of them, before the shoes turned and the footsteps started again. Realising this meant Will was currently facing away from them Sophie grabbed a stray book, throwing it in the vague direction of the door.

Will Treaty span around as he heard a sound near the door, eyes narrowing as he glared at it hard for a moment, almost as though he was trying to melt it with his eyes. The man ran out the door, muttering curses under his breath before yelling to the Black Knights stationed around the castle.

"The intruders are in the castle somewhere! They couldn't have gone far! Find and secure them immediately, do not let them leave here with that scroll! Kill if necessary! Someone find Zero, tell him to revise the security. If I don't get that scroll back in the next half hour someone is going to die!"

Both girls let out a deep breath as they realised Will was really gone this time, clambering out from under the bookshelf. Hardback books tumbled off them and to the floor as they stood up, stretching the pain out of their muscles. Alix looked around the library, almost wanting to cry at the state it was in. It was horrible, truly horrible. It was just plain cruel to abuse books like this. Period. Whether or not your life depended on it or if a madman was trying to kill you, this was just too much.

The two looked at each other then, Sophie still clutching the scroll to her, Alix's eyes widening as the realisation hit her.

"Will... Will's evil. Will isn't a Ranger anymore. Will Treaty is trying to kill us. Oh this is not good, this is not good at all."

The taller girl nodded numbly as they started walking towards the library door, knowing that they had somehow gotten themselves into an extremely dangerous situation. They pretty much had an army looking for a scroll which was in their possession. Now at this point a normal person would put the scroll back and pretend they never had it in the first place. But Alix Bryars and Sophie Jones weren't normal people. Nope, they went to TKC, which pretty much meant they were insane psychopaths that were anything but normal.

Meaning they were gonna keep that scroll in their possession, or die trying.

 _ **Umm... Yeah, that was that.**_

 _ **Alix: OMHDJEHKWBCNEKHWHBCWKHDBHBD WE'RE IN THE RANGERS APPRENTICE WORLD!**_

 _ **Sophie: err, Gaki, you already knew this was gonna happen**_

 _ **Alix: THAT DOESNT MAKE IT ANY LESS AWESOME!**_

 _ **Sophie: okaaaay... I'm gonna read over this chapter and correct spelling blah blah blah. You get it.**_

 _ **Alix: uhu. Was it me or was the last chapter better than this one?**_

 _ **Sophie: probably, I have a cold headache. It hurts.**_

 _ **Alix: I feel yah. Anyways, Sophie's off dying in a corner now soooo I'll say bye on her behalf. See yah!**_

 _ **Sophie: ugh.**_

 _ **Alix: that means bye. Oh! And the next chapter will be published on , so look out for it!**_

 _ **sophie: I didn't have time to actually go over this chapter because I'm leaving on holiday for a week today, so if the spacing are messed up or the line breaks aren't working hen I'm very sorry for that, I'm doing this on my phone because I don't have time to boot up my computer.**_

 _ **-Zero**_


	3. The Light

Trouble {guest} : I'm glad that you're enjoying this fic so far, and thanks for the support on the rewrite ^^ All questions will be answered eventually! :P

Bob {guest} : Yes drunk kids. It was an accident though, you can't blame them, and besides its in their nature to do something stupid like that. Also... It's a metaphor. When I said a billion mph i was obviously joking.

Moniquebowman {guest} : Wow I totally should have made that happen XD but then again Sophie harbours some serious hate for Will, so I doubt she'd think that. On top of that... Well, let's just say there are some secrets about which type of people Sophie are into later down the line.

And thank you very much for the support ^o^ I was just as amused as you were! (:

Guest {guest} : Thanks! I'll definitely continued and for certain won't finish this until it's at an end, and thank you for the support!

 **Chapter Three:** t

A/N: Stupid Wattpad decided it'd be fun to delete the entire chapter, so I just spent the past week rewriting it all. Ugh I hate Fanfiction so much sometimes ):

 **'There are two types of people: you are weak or you are me' Hollywood Undead, Outside**

Sophie and Alix knew that they had to move, and they had to move now. The Black Knights were on high alert searching the castle and if they were caught now they'd be killed for sure. Will's words from earlier still rang through Sophie's spinning mind ' _Use fatal force if necessary_!' If they screwed this up they were dead.

They knew that as soon as they twisted the wheel that opened the heavy metal door to the library and got out into the castle, all hell would break loose. Sure they could try and be stealthy and sneak out, but Sophie's chance of getting out undetected? Let's just say they haven't made a number low enough yet. Quietness really wasn't the tallest girls strong point. So Sophie took the less logical option: she opened the door and ran up the stairs and through the castle whilst screaming her head off. It would be quite comical if they weren't being chased by roughly fifty black Knights in full armour with big ass swords. You know, the usual.

So the two girls ran through the winding corridors of The Castle Of Gorlan, Sophie leading the charge, Alix right behind her.

"FOR HOGWARTS!"

Do you see now, why stealth was not the best option? The two girls most likely would have lost their heads if it weren't for one crucial factor: the black Knights were wearing heavy armour as well as lugging swords with them. The two relatively fit thirteen year olds had the advantage as far as speed was concerned, and in this chase, speed was everything. The two darted down shimmering black corridors, until they finally saw the drawbridge in front of them. Problem was it was incredibly closed.

After yet another failed spell attempt on Sophie's part -it was destructio this time. Alix was starting to think her friends Harry Potter addiction was going to be the cause of their deaths at this point- the girls turned around, sprinting back down the corridor at top speed, managing to get out of the oneway death trap just as the black Knights filtered into it. The high speed run through the castle continued, the two best friends making their way up onto the second floor. Then the third floor. All the way to the roof. Guess what happened at the roof?

"Au revoir, suckers!"

Yup, Sophie jumped off, pulling Alix with her. Now Alix was rethinking her earlier prediction: it was most likely Sophie's tendency to jump off roofs that was going to lead to their premature deaths. Somehow Harry Potter didn't seem as dangerous. The two landed in the moat that surrounded Will's castle, resurfacing in the greenish blue liquid absolutely drenched. Shaking off the freezing water the two swam to the edge of the moat, climbing out into the Ridiculously Cold It's Three O'Clock In The Morning Air.

"Nice call, Sophie. Jumping into this moat was a great idea I'll give you that.

The smaller of the two looked over at her friend, incredulous.

"Are you kidding me? I didn't even notice that moat on the way in! That was sheer luck!"

Alix's jaw proceeded to drop.

"So what you're saying is... You practically threw me off a three story roof... Without knowing we were going to have a safe landing?"

Luckily for Sophie Alix didn't have time to murder her because that's about when it started raining arrows. Flaming arrows, no less. The girls jumped as the ground next to them was set alight, flames trying desperately to grasp at their ankles as they jumped out of the way, looking up at the spray of fire descending on them. Let's just say 'they ran' would be the light way of putting it. They flat out sprinted for the cover of the trees, Sophie clutching the scroll all the while.

"Where the hell did they get flaming arrows from on such short notice!?"

Sophie kept running, panting slightly as she spoke.

"Alix! If you can talk you're not running your fastest!"

The smaller of the two girls turned to her friend, giving her an exasperated look.

"But you're talking too!"

Sophie just shook her head.

"That's not my point dammit! RUN!"

And that's exactly what the two did; they sprinted like their lives depended on it, which they did considering they were trying to outrun what we're pretty much small pointy balls of fire. After a few more seconds of torturing their legs the arrows thudded to the ground, literally a couple meters behind them. They'd made it by the skin of their teeth.

"That was... Way... Too close..."

Alix just nodded at her friends statement, collapsing against a tree. They'd made it into the forest but Alix had no doubt the black Knights would be roaming the area searching for them, after all Sophie had somehow managed to hold onto the scroll all this time. As long as they had that piece of red parchment they were targets.

"Okay, we need some weapons and basic supplies. We won't be able to survive long in this place without them, pretty much everyone round here is trained in some form of lethal combat. Get caught without a weapon and it's over."

Sophie agreed with the plan and they started walking again, away from Castle Gorlan and further into the woods. As they walked Alix looked up at the shining stars above, hundreds of them littering the sky. It was amazing, truly magnificent. From what she could tell Rangers Apprentice was set in the medieval times, meaning that cars hadn't been invented yet and the planet hadn't been turned into a spinning junk-pile. Alix had always felt strongly about the fact the human race was destroying the planet it lived on; people from their world had only looked at a mountain and thought about what they could gain from it, never stopping and taking a second to admire its natural beauty. It was appalling.

They walked in silence for a couple of hours at least, Alix inwardly ranting about worldwide destruction and the fate of the planet and Sophie planning out her next seven books and thinking about the best way to blow a tin can up. Around that time they heard a noise. A very loud noise. Several noises, actually.

"Come on you miserable lot! Is that really the fastest you can go!? I hope you realise Obama won't wait while you take rest breaks before he starts ripping your intestines out!"

The two girls leapt into the cover of the bushes as boys that seemed to be around the age of sixteen ran past them, clad in light armour and armed with broadswords. The friend's eyes connected, each girl thinking the same thing: battle school. The two waited until the training Knights were a little ways in front of them before making their way out of the bushes and following at a good distance.

"Alright, we'll make camp here. Set up the base on the double! A Squad, you're on fire duty! T squad, set up the sleeping mats! Obama may attack at any moment, keep on your toes!"

Sophie and Alix listened as the chorus of 'Yes Sir!' ran through the forest, the Knights a flurry of activity as they set up the camp at top speed. The girls stayed a little way away from the clearing where they were doing such, having their own quite conversation.

"Obama? How do they even know who Obama is? And why would he be a threat, I mean he's the president of America right? He doesn't even exist here!"

The smaller girl decided to completely ignore her friends questions, peering through the bushes and watching the Battle School students setting up.

"Keep you're voice down, idiot. That's not important right now; they've got weapons. We need weapons. We are going to get weapons. They are going to loose weapons."

In the time they'd been speaking the make shift camp had been successfully set up, the Knights all asleep on the sleeping mats. It was a stark contrast to the frantic mass of teenagers setting up base that it had been only a few minutes ago. The two waited a few minutes more, just to make sure that everyone was asleep; they really didn't want to get caught here, they'd be dead before you could say 'Ranger'.

"Okay, they're all asleep... So we sneak in and grab the swords next to those closest to us, they've got their weapons by their beds so it should be easy. Hey, are you listening to me?"

Sophie turned from staring at the trees to look at Alix, nodding in conformation that she'd heard the shorter.

"Yeah, I just thought I saw something is all."

"Probably just a bird or a squirrel. Let's go!"

Sophie carefully picked up the broadsword on the ground next to the unlucky Knight, making as little sound as possible. Once she had the weapon firmly in her grasp and was certain nobody had been woken up by neither her nor Alix's thieving the girl tested the weight of the sword in her hand. It was heavier than she would have liked, meaning it was slower but at the same time it'd be much more powerful, if she could land a hit with this the damage would be pretty severe. Furthermore she could use the weight of the sword to build up momentum and so speed if she handled it right.

After her thorough examination of the weapon the girl turned to leave, but paused just as she was turning. Her eyes locked on to what was in the middle of the camp; there were several ration packs stacked in the middle, as well as flasks of seemingly sanitised water. If they could get their hands on just one of each they'd be made for at least a week. The taller girl knew how to work with a rat pack from her time in the army cadets, where you pretty much lived off shitty meals in tinfoil seal-up bags.

Sophie looked back over at Alix, who had followed her gaze and was also staring at the items that might save their lives. The two friends exchanged a single nod and then the oldest was off towards the centre of the camp, avoiding the sleeping Knights as she went. After almost blowing their cover several times she made it to the mound of ration packs, looking over at the sleeping Battle Master, Sir Rodney. This excursion must have been seriously important for him to come along, yet he was asleep on the ground just like all the others, his back currently to her. The girl reached out, hand just about to close around the flask of water when she saw it out the corner of her eye.

If that sword was a bit lighter and a bit faster then she could have cut the arrow in half with ease. But it wasn't, so she did the only thing she could do; throw herself to the side, into the pile of ration packs which proceeded to tumble onto the sleeping Battle School students and wake them all up. Sophie didn't have time to worry about them, though; she raised her sword to block the attack she knew was coming from the second she saw an arrow sailing through the sky towards her face, the attack from the not so sleeping Sir Rodney.

The girl didn't have time to do anything but run after blocking that attack. She sprinted to the edge of the clearing, turning for a moment to look not at the mob of knights currently charging towards her but instead meeting the dark eyes of the one who had shot at her in the first place, giving him a glare that clearly read. 'I will find you and I will make your life a living hell you sneaky son of a bitch' They glared at each other for a split second more before the cloaked man looked away, seeming to fade into the trees as he took a few steps backwards through the branches.

The taller girl proceeded to run again, catching up with her shorter friend after a little while, the chasing Knights right behind them. This would be the second time that night they'd be running for their lives, literally.

The two friends threw themselves through the opening into the cave, pressing themselves against the cold wall and clamping their hands over their own mouths to silence their heavy breathing. The rain had been torrential for the last ten minutes of the chase, so they heard as the Knights clanked past in the mud, most likely not able to see much through the rain.

"Where the hell did they go!?"

"I don't know, but nobody can just disappear! Keep searching!"

The next command was from the Battle Master, and one that the girls were eternally thankful for.

"No! This rain is reaching dangerous ferocity, continuing the hunt would just be stupid at this point. Head back to camp, loose sight of all other Knights and you're as good as dead! Now MOVE!"

As the chorus of 'yes sirs!' echoed through the forest, followed by boots sloshing in mud, the two girls dared to breath again in their cave. The water was streaming down the front of the entrance, concealing them from the outside world. If anybody approached they'd hear them due to all the mud and water outside. It was the perfect hiding place, and Alix was extremely glad Sophie had spotted it at the last moment. The two weren't used to running this much all at once and so they were pretty tired by now.

"Alix, we should sleep. I know I need it."

The smaller girl nodded, exhausted herself she didn't bother to answer, instead stretching and laying down on the cold stone. At least it was dry. The taller of the two did similar, curling up against one of the walls, facing the entrance of the cave just in case.

"Night Gaki, don't let the cave bugs bite."

"Die in your sleep and I'll kill you. Stab me in my sleep and I'll haunt you. Stab yourself in your sleep and I won't be going to your funeral. Got that?"

Sophie rolled her eyes at Alix's comment, yet couldn't help laugh slightly. Not even she trusted herself with sword, she'd probably end up killing something whilst she slept.

"Okay, okay I got it. Now go to sleep."

"Sophie... Do you hear that?"

The two girls had been awake since Sophie had heard a weird noise, consequently waking up her smaller friend in case they needed to move quickly. It wouldn't do to have to wake Alix from her slumber then run; they were facing presumably armed opponents at the moment, they couldn't afford any slowness or mistakes. Mistakes are what get you killed.

"No, I don't hea-"

Sophie was cut off as a loud roar rang through the cave, reverberating of the walls and coming back to their ears to fill them again, the noise a lot louder than it would have been if they were in an open space. A few tense moments later two bears padded into their part of the cave from the darkness. Weird thing was that they were gold. On top of that they were glowing.

"Hey, these guys are kinda cute. Okay, okay, not cute at all!"

The smaller girl was prompted to say this as she was forced to roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the claws aiming to slice into her head. No matter how awesome the glowing golden bears were they were currently trying to kill them, so they'd have to fight. Both girls had their swords ready as they dodged, ducked and dived out the way of attacks that would otherwise be the cause of their deaths. Somehow Sophie managed to stab the first bear through the head, killing it instantly, but as she was pulling her sword out the second glowing bear swiped at her again, putting light scratches in her back as she leapt to the side at the last moment, sword still lodged in the first bears skull.

The taller brunet was currently fighting a bear with no weapons. Great. Just great. She launched into a series of ducks and dodges, trying her hardest not to get stabbed in any part of her body by the razor sharp claws. This continued for a short while, Sophie dodging as fast as she could and the golden bear attacking even faster. But that's when the oldest of the two friends slipped, a mistake that would most likely cost her her life. She landed hard on her back, only being able to watch as the bear pushed itself up to gain momentum and power, before falling back down with its claws in position to slice right into her head. Sophie squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the blow that never came. Instead she felt something wet and vaguely sticky drop down on her face.

Opening her eyes the girl saw gold blood dripping from the point the sword punctured the bears neck. Alix had jumped up behind the glowing beast and ran it through from behind. The taller girl rolled out from under the glowing bear just in time, standing and looking as the corpses exploded into showers of golden dust, leaving Sophie free to collect her sword again.

"Okay... Well that was that... Ugh, what now? There's something else coming..."

They both fell silent as a faint golden glow appeared amongst the darkness that led further into the cave, a strange flapping noise accompanying it. After a few seconds of waiting hundreds of what seemed to be golden glowing butterflies swarmed into their part of the cave, the catch being that they had razor sharp wings.

"Shit! There are so many and -OW! Their wings are sharp!"

Sophie nodded in agreement, although Alix couldn't see it through the wave of gold swarming her, scratches appearing all over the bodies of both girls as the wings cut into them. They both realised there was no way they could fight this many of the glowing creatures so instead they ran further into the cave, the swarm just behind them. As they ran into what was once just darkness they found themselves in a narrow stony kind of passage, their only choice to run down it or turn back to the swarm of butterflies. Choosing the more sensible option this time they continued running, until they found themselves in a large circle shaped section of the cave. Spinning around as they heard the grinding of stone behind them, the girls could only watch as a stone type of door raised up to block their only exit. They were trapped.

 _'Who are you? What are you doing here!?'_

The two friends turned to look back to the centre of the room to see who had spoke. They were thoroughly confused when the voice first floated to them; it sounded... Inhumane. What they found was not a welcome sight: there was another golden glowing spirit that seemed to be in the shape of a human, and surrounding it was a swarm of gold... Were those locusts? They were circling her -and it was definitely a her considering its childlike voice that obviously belonged to a young girl- tightly, not attacking them. Yet.

Suddenly the spirit in the centre of the room started glowing brightly, and a second later golden arrows burst from her body, launching towards them. The glowing projectiles moved almost as though they were shot into water, leaving the two girls more than enough time to dodge each one.

 _'I said go away!'_

Sophie watched as the humanoid blob of glowing golden dust seemed to get mad at the fact they weren't replying, and as her rage grew the arrows moved faster, the swarm of locusts widening their circle slightly, the buzzing drone from the creatures growing louder. At this point Alix decided it'd most likely be best to answer, so she called out to the spirit in an attempt to calm its rage.

"We're not here to hurt you! We promise!"

However the smaller girl was immediately cut off by the spirits voice that rang throughout the cave as the locusts swarm up and up, their circle widening dramatically compared to the tight ring it had been a few minutes ago.

 _'I don't believe you! Any of you! All you humans are filthy liars that only do what they do for their own selfish reasons! They're corrupting the world with darkness! I_ _ **hate**_ _humans!'_

As her rage spiked the arrows burst forth from her with much more speed than they had before, soaring through the air to impale their intended targets. Alix ducked under the three aimed for her. Sophie jumping out the way of two and plucking the third one out of the air. Looking up at the stony ceiling the taller girl realised the hundreds of locusts now circling rapidly were about to swarm them. If these glowing creatures were anything like the butterflied then they were as good as dead already, so the brunet did the only thing she could do; she launched the arrow from her hand at the spirit, throwing her with as much force as she possibly could.

Then the unexpected happen. The arrow seemed to only gain speed as it flew through the air towards the spirit in the centre of the room, imbedding itself in her chest. Time seemed to freeze around them, quite literally, as her non existent eyes widened, the locusts exploding in puffs of gold dust, showering down upon the two as the bright arrows of light plummeted to the floor. All this happened as Sophie leapt forwards towards the falling spirit, catching her... Or it... Just before she hit the stony ground.

The two girls looked down as this golden girl that had attacked them out of nowhere started disintegrating, the glowing golden dust she was made of falling to the floor as it dropped away from her body. When her voice sounded out again it was no longer the high pitched tone of a young child, but raspy and pained.

 _'A curse on you... A curse on both of you... You can no longer escape... Everywhere you go the spirits... They'll see you... You can never... Escape...'_

The girls were left to stare in numb shock as the spirit's weightless body exploded suddenly, the gold dust floating round the room for a moment before settling down on the rocks. The two were snapped back to reality as two items fell to the floor in front of them, startling them out of their numb state of nothingness: one was a small red pouch like bag, the other was a glowing blue orb.

"What... What are these?"

Sophie shook her head at her friends question, picking up the bag in her hand. There was a golden strong obviously inclosed in the material, designed so that if you pulled it the bag would close. A drawstring bag, then, small enough to hold comfortably in the palm of one hand.

"I dunno, but this bag doesn't feel like there's anything in it. But... The sides are sagging, which suggests it's filled with something like sand? I dunno."

The girl then proceeded to open the red bag, surprised to find it was filled golden dust much like the grains they'd seen dropped from the spirit and all the other glowing creatures they'd been forced to kill. Sophie didn't say anything else on the matter, simply closing the bag and slipping it in her pocket, looking over at her friend.

"So, what's up with the orb?"

The smaller girl shrugged, turning the small blue orb in her hand, looking at each side of it. The orb looked almost as though the contents of the world had been put in it and were swirling around, considering the shades of white and blue constantly mixing within it. It certainly wasn't natural, that was for sure.

"I'm not su- hey! It's got a T on this side, in white!"

Alix ran her hand over the glass like surface of the orb, not feeling any change in the feel of the surface like there should have been. It didn't seem like the T was painted on the outside or anything, it was almost as if it was on the inside.

"Okay, this is pretty weird. C'mon Gaki, I suggest we move back to our old section of the cave. We need to be prepared for the battle school guys to come flooding in at any moment, getting caught in this dead end room won't be a good idea. I've had enough life or death situations for one day, thanks."

 _ **A/N: Well, there's chapter three, rewritten three times and still managing to be terrible.**_

 _ **Alix: hey, it wasn't that bad, but the bit with that weird golden spirit thing could use some work.**_

 _ **Sophie: I know, I know. I'm working on it.**_

 _ **Alix: Cool. Well, there are spirits in this? Fun.**_

 _ **Sophie: Yeah. And Will owns a castle, and we got shot at by a... Person**_

 _ **Alix: Sophie, we all know it wa-**_

 _ **Sophie: SHATTAPPP! Some of them may not!**_

 _ **Alix: are you medieval now?**_

 _ **Sophie: . . . Maybe.**_

 _ **Alix: say something medieval**_

 _ **Sophie: uh... They doth see thy as a such elegant flower who's petals doth shine like precious rubies in thy so gentle a wind. AND YOU MUST BREAK {splash}FREE AND SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!**_

 _ **Alix:**_

 _ **. . .**_

 _ **. . .**_

 _ **. . .**_

 _ **Well shit. That was halfway decent**_

 _ **Sophie: I know right? I'm good at Shakespeare XD**_

 _ **Alix: that definitely wasn't Shakespeare**_

 _ **Sophie: oh...**_

 _ **Alix: well, let's leave these awesome people alone to continue their lives. Next chapters out soonish! Have fun till then guys :3**_

 _ **Sophie: see yah!**_


	4. We're All Gonna Die

**Chapter Four** : We're all gonna die

* * *

 **'I can't haunt a house if it haunts me too, and I'm a little trigger happy so come on lets dance' ~ Hollywood Undead, Dark Places**

* * *

 _A/N: can I just say I'd freaking COMPLETED this chapter and then it got DELTED! I am sooooo angry right now, I have to rewrite the entire freaking thing. Bleh. Again. Why does this always happen to me? Also it's the summer holidays and I'm in the Isle of Wight so I'm writing a lot now because I have no wifi to get distracted with XD_

* * *

Alix Bryars and Sophie Jones leant back against opposite sides of the damp wall of their cave, Sophie finally opening the red scroll to read through it. Unraveling the dyed red parchment her eyes roamed over the page for a moment before she began reading to her smaller friend, who was sitting opposite her and listening intently.

"Alright... Well in this bit here it mentions four spirits, and four...universe travellers? That sounds promising. It says that there is one Universe Traveller assigned to each spirit, the spirit is a test to see if the Universe Traveler is worthy of it's power, which is... Oh my God Alix..."

The smaller girl scrambled across the cave, trying to peer over her shocked friends shoulder and failing miserably.

"What? What is it!?"

Sophie continued reading after a second, a grin slowly spreading over her face as she did, expression morphing from shocked to ecstatic.

"It says... It says that Universe Travellers have the ability to travel to a universe of their c-choice by jumping down a lotus drainpipe. Alix! That could be us! What if we're Universe Travellers!?"

Alix leant back against the wall, thinking hard about the matter for a few long moments. It added up, really. They were currently in a different world after jumping down a drainpipe. That's not something that happens to regular people, as far as she knew.

"Well... It would explain how we got here... But we just jumped down a normal drainpipe, not one of those lotus thingies."

The taller girl looked crestfallen for a moment, before her excitement suddenly spiked back up again.

"No! I noticed that the design on the manhole cover, it had a lotus flower on it. Maybe that's what it means! Look, back onto the matter of these spirits: the Universe Traveler finds it harder to fight their respective spirits, if they die they're not strong enough to hold the title of UT. Oh, it also says that each defeated spirit will drop a 'world orb' and something else which is vital for the Universe Traveler to proceed on their journey."

At this Sophie paused, looking down at the bag of golden dust she'd just pulled out her pocket.

"Guess this is the 'something else' then. I wonder what it does that's so important? Well, we'll figure it out eventually I suppose. So you must have that world orb, right?"

Alix nodded, reaching into the pocket of her jeans and pulling out the strange blue orb with the T on it.

"Yeah. The T must mean the Universal Traveler or something. Wonder who it is?"

The taller girl just shrugged, before continuing to read from the red scroll that was growing more interesting by the minute.

"Okay, well we have profiles of the four spirits. This could come in handy, I guess.

Daphne, The Light Spirit. Location: Forgotten Caves. She must be the one we just killed...

Raven, The Darkness Spirit. Location: Unknown. Unknown? Well what a fat load of help this is.

Aliya, The Animal Spirit: Location: Unknown. Another one? Oh. Oh no. Don't tell me...

Diane, The Fire Spirit. Location: Unknown. I knew it. Their locations are only gonna appear on this scroll once we've found the spirits themselves. This is going to be a lot trickier than I first thought. If we don't know where they are, we could run in to one at literally any time, like Daphne just now. If we're not prepared..."

Alix didn't say anything, face grim as she realised what that meant. Sophie had almost died in the fight with those bears, and she was sure the other spirits would be much stronger than Daphne. If they happened to stumble across another one of these Universal Spirit guys the consequences would most likely be fatal, and Alix really didn't want to die just yet. She'd just gotten into her favourite fictional universe and there was no way in hell she was leaving until shed at least kicked some serious ass.

"Well, we've got the swords, that's a start at least. If we can get some better weapons then maybe we'll stand a chance."

The taller girl nodded, rolling up the scroll and slipping it into the inside layer of her brown jacket, slouching against the walls and shutting her eyes, listening as the rain outside pounded ruthlessly on the floor. Both girls listened to the rain for a few minutes, before Sophie stretched widely, crossing her legs and looking over at Alix.

"Get some sleep Gaki, I'll take first watch."

The smaller girl looked at Sophie with a face that clearly meant 'do you realise what just came out of you mouth?' The taller of the two stared at Alix for a second before rolling her eyes, realising what she meant.

"Shut up. It's a habit, okay? Army cadets does that to you."

The youngest laughed lightly, before lying back down on the cold stone, shivering slightly from the dampness before rolling over onto her side, the sword placed carefully next to her. She yawned softly, shattered from running for her life way too many times today. They'd gone from being as regular as two insane kids could be to people in a book. A book. From what they'd summarised they were also Universe Travellers now apparently, meaning they could travel between different dimensions using a drainpipe. This was literally her entire freaking dream come true; she could travel to Ranger's Apprentice. Admittedly she didn't have a clue how to leave, but at this point she really didn't care.

She never wanted to go home.

* * *

When he came in, they were unprepared and it was completely unexpected. Sophie hadn't seen him even though she was staring right at the cave entrance, hadn't heard him even though his boots must have made sound in the mud. All she could remember was a flash of dark green, and suddenly she was in a fight for both herself and Alix's life. The tall girl only just had time to throw herself in front of her friend as the knife came down, scraping her shoulder instead of burying itself in Alix's head. That seemed to wake the smaller girl up, and soon the two found themselves fighting the hooded man.

His cloak was a mixture of dark greens and greys, seeming to almost shift between the colours as he moved. The figure was silent but deadly, fast and most of all precise. It took all they had to block his knives with their swords, and every time they did so dents would be put in their metal blades. The weapons that currently held the two girls lives would snap if they continued, and that really wouldn't do them any good.

Breaking the pattern of blocking, Alix stepped forwards as her friend stepped back. The figure was fighting with only one knife now; he'd thrown the other at Sophie a while ago, the girl dodging it by literally nanometers, the blade burying itself in the wall. They hadn't given him time to retrieve it. The taller girl twisted slightly as the man brought his knife down on her sword once again, reaching out and grabbing his hand with one of hers, pushing his knife down into her sword. The cracks beginning to form in the metal only grew larger, however he couldn't pull away to attack again. They stayed locked in the battle, each one trying to take control of the knife as Alix made her move.

The younger of the two friends swung her sword round at the man's back, aiming for just above his middle. If she hit he'd be dead in an instant, that was lung territory. However she wasn't as lucky as that; the figure pushed Sophie away hard, the girl slamming into the cave wall then falling to the ground, coughing from the effect of all the air being forcefully removed from her body. The cloaked man then swung round, the force of his knife meeting the blade of the sword completely cutting the larger weapon in half.

The two girls knew they were in for it then; Sophie's weapon had gone skidding across the damp floor and was now lying outside the cave entrance, mud collecting over it even as she stood up from the ground. They were weaponless and facing an opponent that was way out of their league and who was using deadly force. On top of that Alix had just realised who, or more like what this guy was, and she didn't like it one bit.

"You... You're a Ranger, right?"

The cloaked figure paused for a moment, before sheathing his knife and pulling his other one out of the wall, also putting it back in its proper place. Although his weapons were away neither doubted the speed in which he could retract and kill them, then leave without a second thought. This guy was dangerous, that much was clear, but was he really one of the Rangers the two knew so much about?

The man paused for a moment, before sighing softly and pulling his hood down slightly so that they could see his face. Alix preceded to have a heart attack whilst Sophie just stared in shock at their attacker. His hair was mainly black but looked to be peppered with silver, showing that he was getting on in his years but obviously not so much he couldn't attack two teenagers, it seemed. His eyes were really dark, almost black, but despite the dull colour they still found a way to shine with life. The man's face was in a word grizzled, almost as though he held a strange sense of gruffness around him. His beard was really short, showing he'd obviously cut it recently, although not very well. The Ranger's hair was also short in length and kind of choppy, again cut like he'd done it himself with his knife.

Alix, on the other hand, didn't have to stare at the Ranger to know who it was. Just one glance had told her everything she needed to know, and now she was trying to regulate her breathing. If he attacked again she wouldn't be able to do anything in the state she was in right now; she was basically having a heart attack, going into shock and dying all at the same time. It was something Sophie had dubbed 'extreme fan girl mode', and the taller girl knew just what to do to stop her friend, who was currently hyperventilating.

Halt O'Carrick watched, scrutinising the two's every movement as the brown haired girl that had tried to immobilise his knife walked over to the smaller one, and pretty much slapped her across the face. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as the one who's sword he'd snapped blinked a few times, before seeming to snap out of the daze she was in. The reaction was instantaneous as she felt the stinging pain across her face, and suddenly the cave was filled by a girl, a Ranger and a snarling monster as Alix tried to murder her best friend, both of which seemed to have forgotten the man's presence. Sophie let go of her best friend's hair, Alix removing her hand from around the taller girl's neck as they heard someone clear their throat from near the entrance. Suddenly remember the guy that had tried to kill them the two jumped up, the taller girl eyeing the Ranger warily whilst Alix started to fan girl again.

"Answering you're earlier question yes, I am a Ranger, second only to the King an-"

A tick appeared above the man's eye as he was cut off by the taller of the two girls. Annoying brat...

"Yeah, yeah we know all that already. Ranger, answers to the King, honourable man blah blah blah. Now onto the actually important question; the hell did you attack us for? We literally didn't do anything to piss you off this time."

Halt crossed his arms, muscles tensed and ready to fight again at any moment. He wasn't going to let his guard down yet, oh no, if he did that he could very well end up dead. Only apprentices made stupid mistakes like that, and he hadn't been an apprentice for a long, long time.

"A new threat has surfaced, and we believe you two are working for him. That's why you were stealing from the camp after popping up from literally nowhere. Even I've never seen you before, and I'm part of an elite intelligent force."

Sophie nodded humorously, obviously mocking the deadly man in front of her. The girl had been told before that she had absolutely no sense of occasion whatsoever and could probably infuriate the Prime Minister to the point he nuked the entirety of Somsberry. She hadn't complained because she already knew it was completely true.

"Yes, yes, elite enough to attack two untrained teenagers because you 'think' they're comrades with some evil dude. Seriously, Halt, we wouldn't work for the bad guys. Okay that's absolute bullshit, hell in most places I am the bad guy, but Alix is loyal to the Rangers, and to honour our friendship so am I. Hey, look at that, I actually said something respectable for once in my life!"

Of course Halt O'Carrick decided to completely ignore the bit about being loyal to the Rangers, instead narrowing his pitch black eyes at the two girls, the glint of metal visible as he rested his hands on his knives, ready to attack again at any moment.

"Well, if you really aren't with the enemy... Then how do you know my name?"

Now we all know the tall girl well enough now to already know that instead of giving a sensible, thought out reply Sophie spouted utter nonsense. Surprisingly, it actually worked for once. Alix was both completely shocked and kind of proud that her best friend had pulled it off, to be honest; it was unbelievable.

"I have psychic abilities."

Of course the Ranger was skeptical at first; the black line arching up towards the heavens as he raised his eyebrow in utter disbelief. He'd lived forty three years in this world as part of an elite group that specialised in gathering information, and not once had he heard of somebody possessing 'psychic abilities'.

"You what now?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's nothing major really. I just sometimes get vague premonitions, I can tell people's names, ages if I'm lucky, it's really unreliable though. Only reason Alix keeps me around. Well, that, and I'm a total badass."

The man really really wanted to say something to counter that last bit, but he was forced to grudgingly admit that both these girls were pretty much badasses, even if just a little bit. A tiny bit. So small you could hardly tell.

"Interesting... If you weren't so annoying you could make a good Ranger. Maybe a knight."

The taller girl scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, before nudging Alix next to her, expression more than a bit amused at Halt's words and furthermore that he'd brought her complete and utter lie.

"Hey, you here that? He thinks I could be a knight. Me. A knight. God, I'd hate to even think about it; lugging those heavy ass swords around, and then there's the armour... Jesus."

The man was surprised once again: from this girls over confident, loud mouthed and for the most par atrocious attitude he'd assumed she'd be all for charging into a battle with guns -well, more like sword, but that's a detail and they're unimportant- blazing, all fired up and ready to throw her life away to save some stranger who's destined to die a few seconds later anyway in some pointless act of self sacrifice.

"So the idea of becoming a knight doesn't appeal to you, then?"

Sophie pulled an appalled face, as if the Ranger had just suggested she go jump into a pit of snakes with no weapons on her. Admittedly that did sound quite like something she'd probably do, but again that's off topic right now.

"No way in hell would I make it as a Knight. My forte is quick attacks, I mean sure I don't mind swords but not those big heavy hunks of metal these so called Knights like to lug around. Nope, I work with thin light swords with high manoeuvrability that take actual maintenance to uphold. I may fail as far as disciplines concerned, but even I know the importance of keeping a weapon sharp. On top of that I'm more someone that would analyse the situation first and then attack from the shadows rather than someone that would just charge in and get themselves killed."

As soon as the dark haired girl saw the glint in Halt's eyes, she knew that she'd said the right thing. Pretty much all of the little speech she'd just given was true, but Sophie had also made sure it was as accurate as a description to a Ranger as she could possibly make it whilst keeping it true to her own preferences and skills. She also knew, as she saw that look, that Halt was no longer planning on killing them at that moment.

He may still have his doubts, sure, but he had brought there story. He believed she was psychic, believed they had no immediate connection with the enemy, and most importantly he believed that she at least would make a halfway decent fighter given the proper training.

So of course the last thing she expected was to be knocked out by him.

* * *

(A/N: This next bit uses a lot of deep metaphorical stuff that my mind came up with at midnight as I tried to write something vaguely resembling a decent chapter. I don't know if this came out as trash or not; in fact I don't know anything anymore. It's too late to think.)

Sophie Jones sat on the roof of the fief, swinging her legs slightly as she gazed out at the lively streets right outside the castle grounds. People lived their peaceful lives, going about their daily business like the little clockwork beings that they were. Brown eyes watched as Miss Pottery Hennings picked out the juiciest, ripest tomato from her stool, and handed it to Mr Dean Brown with the most giddy, happy smile ever seen on the face of a human being. Never noticing the man who had fallen hopelessly in love with her constantly watching from an alley, always gazing wistfully at the woman he would never have.

It happened the same; every morning Joe Shoesmith would wake up, get dressed, and purchase one of Pottery's tomatoes simply so he could feel her hand brush against his as they exchanged the money, just so he could see that smile, which would never be as bright as the one she flashed Dean. However he could never bring himself to be angry at his long time best friend; If Dean could make Pottery happy, then he'd happily have his heart crushed repeatedly every day for the rest of his life. Even if he was only ever given the second best tomato, he'd happily have that rather than nothing at all.

The girl sighed quietly, lying back down on the warm tiles that had been heated by the hot afternoon sun. Here at Redmont Castle the weather was baking hot, and the girl had taken this rare opportunity to sneak outside onto the roof to gaze in pity at all the fragile beings living in their own little worlds. Of course, she knew she was one of those beings too; Breakable, with a heart that could be toyed with and crushed in an instant. However one difference was that she was most definitely not mechanic.

Those people filling the streets lived their lives like a song on repeat; they kept re-reading and reliving the same chapter, instead of turning to the next one. They repeated the same basic cycle of crushing disappointments and ecstatic happiness every day. She, on the other hand, refused to be like that; her life would never be a straight road, she would never venture down the easy path. In fact she'd taken the dangerous, winding roads so many times now that the simple path was positively boring at this point.

Both she and Alix had been at Redmont Castle for the past two years of their lives. They'd woken up there after being knocked out by the bastard Ranger, and of course both the girls were thoroughly confused when instead of waking up in a prison cell they woke up in beds. Warm beds. It took seven mugs of coffee and two hours of Baron Arold explaining until the two realised what was going on. After Halt had knocked them out he'd carried them back to Redmont and dumped them off there like the royal (hahhahwinkwinkhonhon) asshole he is, and then gone and convinced all the people that wanted them dead that they were on the good side. Sophie had been seriously skeptical at first, due to the fact she was simply unable to believe that Halt could carry the both of them back to Redmont. After Alix nearly killing her several times the taller girl had decided to drop the topic completely in fear of loosing all her limbs and possibly some vital organs.

It had been two years since then. The two had quite willingly thrown themselves into vigorous training; they'd been informed that they would be treated like any of the other wards at Redmont, meaning that when they hit the age of fifteen they'd be attending the choosing whether they liked it or not. After Sophie almost having a mental breakdown over the lack of both Ramen and Pocy in Redmont castle and Alix deciding the both of them were definitely going to have to be Rangers, the two finally accepted that this was there fate and they were ultimately doomed.

Why the sudden defeatist attitude, you ask? Well, the only exercise the two particularly got in their world was Sophie walking an hour to and from school every day and Physical Education at said place of learning. The two weren't exactly flourishing as far as PE was concerned, in fact they were pretty much the worst in their year as far as sports went. The two had a vague suspicion that this had something to do with nobody ever wanting them to be on the sports teams, but that didn't change the fact that they were, in Alix's words, 'needing to get ripped as hell'.

(A/N: This is where you guys figure out that I'm writing this at two in the morning whilst waiting for a plane back to England. Hehehehehehehe fahn ◕‿◕ )

After two years of daily works out and decidedly not 'getting ripped as hell', the two were in much better shape than they were when they were spat out into this universe. I mean if you asked either of them to climb the castle wall seven hundred and thirty days ago they probably would have flipped you off and flat out refused to do the task which both girls could now complete without so much as breaking a sweat. Furthermore they had now attained the skills to do an array of things that they could most definitely not do before the strict regime: climb a big ass wall, go on a big ass run, steal some big ass stuff, win a big ass fight, and use a big ass sword. Oh yes, the day the two found the weapon storage room was the same day the apocalypse started.

The two had practised with pretty much every weapon that they could find in that room, and there were a hell of a lot in their considering it supplied weaponry to the entirety of Redmont. Trees in the Forest Land more resembled porcupines by the time the two had finished, especially considering Alix had been training in archery since day one. Similar was said when Sophie got her hands on the knives they had stashed in the back of the room full of deadly items. Of course the tall girl had a swing with a few of the swords, but found none of them were to her liking; far too heavy, not even near enough manoeuvrability. So instead she opted to throw knives at trees whilst pretending the innocent wood was in fact the face of a certain Ranger she had made it her life mission to annoy. It probably wouldn't have been all that bad to be honest, that is if they hadn't found the explosives. I'm not going to go into what happened because there really is no way to describe the sheer amount of mass destruction that takes place when you let Sophie Jones anywhere near anything that can go boom , but let's just say it took the two several months to repair.

(A/N: It's three in the morning now.)

Sophie looked back as she heard someone else clambering up onto the roof, relaxing as she saw it was only Alix. Both girls had matured in the two years they'd been stuck at Redmont Castle. Of course both had grown somewhat taller, Alix still around half a head shorter than her friend though. Sophie had decided to go all out and dye her hair black -god knows how- before cutting it all off a few centimetres below her ears. The effect was actually rather nice considering she decided it'd be a fun idea to cut it herself with a knife: it made her look even more mature for her age, giving her the appearance of a seventeen year old than someone of fifteen years. Alix's hair had grown in two years, pretty much to the same length that Sophie's was before she cut it, so about an inch below the shoulders. Most of the time you could see her with it in a single plait, although on special occasions she'd get Sophie to do something different with it. You couldn't tell at first, but the taller girl would actually make a goddamned good hairdresser. Of course that was a fact she kept well to herself and Alix.

Both girls watched as he climbed up to them, shooting a grin at them as he reached the top of the roof. His name was Joseph, and the black dark brown haired boy was pretty much the only friend the two girls had made. He'd just suddenly sat down next to them at lunch one day and both he and Alix had just seemed to... Connect. The boy didn't seem to have any other friends either, meaning the two welcomed him to their little group more than happily. So Joseph flopped down on the roof next to his two and only friends in Redmont, staring up at the cloudy blue sky as he panted softly, trying to regain his breath.

"How... Do you two do that climb... So easily?"

Sophie shrugged, both girls also lying back to look at the sky. The taller girl had always taken great pleasure in simply flopping back on the lightly heated castle roof and simply staring up at the fluffy clouds as they traced the way across the sky, making patterns and creatures for all to see.

"Practise, I guess. Unlike you we've been training for the past two years."

(A/N: Muhahahaha tis four in da morning. I think AM stands for after morning and PM stands for pre morning. But that's just a theory, my four after morning brain has no way of knowing)

Joseph smiled then, dark brown eyes filled with mischief as he traced the outlines of the fluffy clouds as they floated ahead, picking out a bear, then butterflies, maybe even locusts in the water based white puffs.

"Yeah, because I don't feel the need to 'get ripped as hell'. Don't need to train to get what I was born with."

Sophie watched as Joseph flexed his arms, adopting a thoughtful look as she watched the muscle in his arm moving. It was clear that he was in shape, and she already knew that he had a decent six pack; Joseph was well muscled, but not to the point that it was over muscled and gross. Just enough to hold his own in the world.

"Hm... Nah, I still say they're fake."

The dark haired boy's look was priceless, utterly priceless.

"What!? But there's literally no way I could do that! You'd see a seam if they were fake! Plus it's not like I have the cash to get it done, anyways!"

At this the taller of the two girls sat up slowly, looking at Joseph like he'd just confirmed he was a part of the illuminati. Her brown eyes were wide and strangely serious, face looking as though she was about to reveal the biggest secret in the world.

"I see you, Joseph! You sneak through the alleys whilst you think nobodies looking, and then... Then you get the illegal plastic surgery! You do! You do!"

At that all three of them burst out laughing, not calming down until Sophie rolled over and consequently fell off the roof. Note that they were currently on the top of a castle. The two rushed to the edge, peering over to see if they'd find blood splatters on the ground or not. What they saw instead was Sophie grabbing a flag pole, swinging back once and then using the gained momentum to launch herself through the thankfully open window and into the castle. Joseph and Alix then proceeded to do the most sensible thing in the world; jump off the roof after her and hope they could grab the flag pole.

Baron Arold had once said Sophie was a bad influence on the other two. Baron Arold was completely right.

Yet somehow the three best friends found themselves in a long, smooth stone corridor, feeling rather refreshed after the lovely life or death incident they'd just been thrown into. Sophie stretched out the soreness in her arms, before looking down the long corridor she'd never seen before. The girl was vaguely interested by that fact; she thought she'd been everywhere there was to go in Redmont, but this... She knew for sure she'd never set foot on this stone before. But what interested her the most was the door at the end of the corridor.

"Hey guys, it's a door leading to potentially dangerous shit! Let's go!"

Alix rolled her eyes at her best friends attempt at humour, before both girls turned to look at Joseph as he spoke up, face unsure as he looked at the metal door with uncertainty. It had one of those annoying wheels on it that you had to turn round... Just like the door in the Gorlan library...

"Hey you guys, I'm gonna get going. I don't wanna be late and the choosing starts in ten minutes."

Ah yes, the choosing, that was today wasn't it? That super important life changing event? Sophie could actually believe that she'd forgot, and just shrugged as she turned back to the door, stretching widely.

"Eh, we'll head down once we see what's down the stairs. See you at the choosing, Joseph."

* * *

 **A/N: Sophie: Ehehehehe I haven't slept in twenty four hours guyz**

 **Alix: we can tell**

 **Sophie: Ey! Dats not niiiice Alox!**

 **Alix: Say my name wrong again and I'll use that two years of training to kill you**

 **Sophie: Hey I kiiiinda forgot if the choosing is at fifteen or sixteen, but it's fifteen now because it's my book so I can do whatever I want**

 **Alix: nice reasoning there**

 **Sophie: I know right? Weeell, I'm gonna go now so bye byes everyone!**

 **Alix: bye! And sorry for the utter craziness of this chapter!**


End file.
